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Temitope Daniel Akanbi is a senior manager at Procter & Gamble. All opinions are the author’s own.
For years, automation has been treated as both the cure for supply chain risk and, paradoxically, the cause of new fragility. When disruptions hit, fingers are often pointed at algorithms that “failed,” systems that “overreacted” or tools that moved faster than humans could intervene. The implication is clear — automation made supply chains brittle.
That narrative is convenient and wrong. Automation did not make supply chains fragile. Poor integration did.
In my experience, I have watched organizations invest heavily in planning platforms, warehouse automation and advanced forecasting engines, expecting faster decisions and greater resilience. Despite faster data, a higher frequency of alerts and more sophisticated dashboards, outcomes barely changed. Decision making also slowed down. When disruptions occurred, leaders had more information than ever and still struggled to act decisively.
